Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution
In 1775, Britain governed 32 North American colonies, but only 13 revolted, driven by their unique social, economic, and political systems.
Conquest by the Cradle
The rebellious colonies experienced significant population growth.
From fewer than 300,000 in 1700 (20,000 black) to 2.5 million by 1775 (0.5 million black).
This growth was largely due to high birth rates, with the population doubling every 25 years.
The average age in 1775 was about 16 years.
This population boom altered the balance of power: English subjects per American colonist dropped from 20:1 in 1700 to 3:1 by 1775.
Most people lived east of the Alleghenies, with pioneer settlements in Tennessee and Kentucky by 1775.
Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Maryland were the most populous colonies.
Only four cities existed: Philadelphia (34,000 residents), New York, Boston, and Charleston.
About 90% of the population was rural.
A Mingling of the Races
Colonial America was ethnically diverse from its outset.
While primarily English, it included many foreign groups:
Germans: About 6% (150,000) by 1775, settling mainly in Pennsylvania due to religious/economic persecution. Known as Pennsylvania Dutch, they lacked loyalty to the British crown.
Scots-Irish: About 7% (175,000) by 1775, they were Scots Lowlanders who moved to Northern Ireland before severe economic hardship pushed them to America. They settled the frontier from Pennsylvania to Georgia, often clashing with Native Americans (e.g., Paxton Boys, Regulator movement).
Other European groups (French Huguenots, Welsh, Dutch, Swedes, etc.) constituted about 5%.
Africans: The largest non-English group, nearly 20% of the population in 1775, heavily concentrated in the South. The slave trade created varied African-American communities.
The middle colonies, especially Pennsylvania, were the most diverse; New England was the least.
This diversity was reflected in the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The Structure of Colonial Society
Eighteenth-century America offered equality and opportunity for most, excluding enslaved people.
There was no hereditary nobility; most white and some free black Americans were small farmers.
Cities had artisans, shopkeepers, and laborers.
Social mobility was possible, but stratification began to emerge.
Wars (1690s-1700s) enriched merchants, creating a colonial elite with imported luxuries.
Wealth became concentrated; by midcentury, the richest 10% in Boston and Philadelphia owned nearly two-thirds of taxable wealth.
War also led to increased poverty, with almshouses built in the 1730s in Philadelphia and New York.
In New England, subdivided landholdings forced younger generations to seek wage labor or move west.
Boston had homeless poor marked with a red “P.”
In the South, slave ownership bolstered planters' power, widening the gap between gentry and poor whites (who often became tenant farmers).
The lower classes included indentured servants (voluntary and involuntary, like the 50,000 "jayle birds" from London).
Black slaves had no rights or opportunities, leading to frequent rebellion attempts.
Colonial legislatures tried to limit slave importation, but British authorities vetoed these efforts, a point Thomas Jefferson initially criticized in the Declaration of Independence.
Professions: Clerics, Physicians, and Jurists
Christian Ministry: Most honored profession, though less influential by 1775.
Physicians: Generally poorly trained and esteemed. The first medical school opened in 1765. Common but often fatal remedies included bleeding. Epidemics like smallpox (inoculation introduced 1721) and diphtheria were significant threats.
Lawyers: Initially viewed unfavorably, even classed with undesirable individuals in early Connecticut law.
Workaday America
Agriculture: The dominant industry, employing about 90% of the people. Tobacco in Maryland/Virginia, wheat in Chesapeake, and grains in middle colonies. Americans enjoyed a high living standard.
Fishing: Important in New England (cod exports), stimulated shipbuilding, and trained seamen.
Commerce: Ensured wealth across colonies. Yankee traders provisioned Caribbean islands and traded goods with London.
Triangular Trade: A profitable but small part of commerce, involving trading rum for slaves in Africa, slaves for molasses in the West Indies, and molasses for rum in New England.
Manufacturing: Secondary to agriculture. Rum distillation, beaver hats, iron forges, and household production were notable.
Lumbering: The most important manufacturing activity, supplying shipbuilders and naval stores (tar, pitch, etc.) crucial for Britain. Britain offered bounties for naval stores, marking useful trees for royal use.
Americans' demand for British goods exceeded British demand for colonial products, leading colonists to seek non-British markets (e.g., West Indies) for cash.
The Molasses Act of 1733 (Parliament trying to restrict trade with French West Indies) was largely circumvented by American merchants through bribery and smuggling.
Horsepower and Sailpower
Transportation was challenging due to poor roads. Benjamin Franklin's 1720 trip from Boston to Philadelphia took nine days.
Waterways were crucial, with population centers along navigable rivers. Coastwise traffic was slow but efficient.
Taverns were vital social hubs, providing lodging, amusement, information, and influencing public opinion.
An intercolonial postal system was established by the mid-1700s, though slow and lacking secrecy.
Dominant Denominations
In 1775, the Anglican and Congregational Churches were the two "established" churches; however, many colonists belonged to no church or other denominations.
Anglican Church: Official in Georgia, Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and parts of New York; a prop of royal authority, it was less fervent than New England Puritanism. The College of William and Mary (1693) trained clerics.
Congregational Church: Developed from the Puritan Church, established in all New England colonies except Rhode Island. Massachusetts taxed residents to support it.
Ministers often engaged in political issues; Presbyterianism, Congregationalism, and rebellion became linked, while Anglican clergy supported the Crown.
The lack of a resident Anglican bishop in America was a handicap, and attempts to create one faced strong opposition.
Religious toleration advanced, except for Roman Catholics, who faced discrimination.
The Great Awakening
Early 18th-century religion was less fervent; churches needed revitalization.
Liberal ideas, including Arminianism (Jacobus Arminius preached free will in salvation, challenging Calvinist predestination), emerged.
The Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) was a religious revival.
Ignited by Jonathan Edwards in Northampton, MA, emphasizing dependence on God's grace over good works.
Spread by George Whitefield's powerful evangelical preaching, inspiring immense religious fervor.
This led to a split between "old lights" (skeptical of emotionalism) and "new lights" (defending the revival).
Congregationalists and Presbyterians divided; many converted to Baptists.
The Awakening undermined older clerical authority, increased church competitiveness, spurred missionary work, and led to founding "new light" colleges (Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, Dartmouth).
It was the first spontaneous mass movement in America, breaking sectional and denominational barriers, fostering a sense of shared American identity.
Schools and Colleges
Education was limited, mainly for the wealthy.
New England: Strong interest in education for religious reasons (Bible reading), with primary and secondary schools especially for boys.
Middle colonies had fair elementary schools; the South relied on private tutors due to dispersed populations.
Colonial schooling emphasized religion and classical languages, discouraged independent thinking, and used severe discipline.
Nine local colleges were founded, mainly to train clergy. Well-to-do families also sent boys to England.
College instruction was basic, curriculum dominated by theology. By 1750, a trend toward modern subjects emerged.
Benjamin Franklin founded the University of Pennsylvania, the first American college free from denominational control.
A Provincial Culture
Colonial art and culture often imitated European styles.
Painters like Charles Willson Peale, Benjamin West, and John Singleton Copley had to train in London.
Architecture, like the red-bricked Georgian style (c. 1720), was imported.
Colonial literature included Phillis Wheatley (a slave girl who published verse) and Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack was famous for promoting thrift, industry, and common sense.
Science also progressed with Benjamin Franklin as a leading figure.
He conducted experiments (e.g., with lightning), invented bifocal spectacles, the Franklin stove, and the lightning rod (initially condemned by some clergy).
Pioneer Presses
Books were scarce and expensive; Franklin established America's first circulating library in Philadelphia.
By 1776, about 50 public libraries existed.
Hand-operated printing presses produced pamphlets and journals, with about 40 colonial newspapers by the Revolution.
Newspapers were crucial for airing grievances.
The John Peter Zenger trial (1734–1735), where he was acquitted of seditious libel against a corrupt royal governor, was a landmark for press freedom.
It established the principle that truthful statements about public officials could not be libelous.
The Great Game of Politics
Colonial governments varied: eight had royal governors, three proprietary governors, and two elected their own Governors.
Most colonies used a two-house legislature: an upper house (appointed by crown/proprietor or elected) and a lower house (elected by property-owning voters).
Backcountry areas were often underrepresented.
Legislatures controlled taxes; self-taxation through representation was highly valued.
Royal governors, despite some being capable, often clashed with assemblies, which used control over the governor's salary to gain leverage.
County government dominated the South, town meetings New England, and a mix in the middle colonies.
Town meetings were a direct form of democracy.
While qualifications (religious/property) limited voting (half of adult white males disfranchised), America was more democratic than England by 1775, giving more scope to democratic ideals.
Colonial Folkways
Daily life was arduous and simple.
Food was plentiful but often monotonous. Basic comforts like heating, running water, and plumbing were absent.
Amusements were eagerly sought: militia musters, work-parties (house-raisings, quilting bees, etc.), funerals, and weddings often involved socializing and liquor.
North: winter sports. South: card playing, horse racing, cockfighting, fox hunting, and dancing.
Lotteries were used to fund churches and colleges.
Stage plays were popular in the South but frowned upon in Quaker and Puritan areas.
Holidays were celebrated, though Christmas was disliked in New England; Thanksgiving became a truly American holiday.
By mid-18th century, British colonies shared commonalities: English language and customs, Protestant religion (though with increased toleration due to diversity), opportunities for the ambitious, some self-government, and improving communication. Their separation from imperial authority by the Atlantic set the stage for independence.